Leo Rowsome

Martin Leo Rowsome was the third generation of an unbroken line of uilleann pipers. He was a performer, manufacturer and teacher of the uilleann pipes throughout his life. Samuel Rowsome, Leo’s grandfather sent his sons, John, Thomas and William, to a German teacher who lived in Ferns, near their home in County Wexford to learn the theory of music and how to play various instruments. This knowledge was passed on through William to his son, Leo, who made good use of it in his teaching, writing music for his many pupils. Leo, the third son among seven sons and one daughter of William Rowsome, a carpenter, and Ann Rowsome, was born in Harold's Cross, Dublin in 1903. His father, William, a Protestant who converted to his wife's Catholic religion, realised that his son had the ability to become a talented musician and craftsman. Constantly watching his father making and repairing instruments, Leo learned the art of pipe making and instrument repair. So rapid was his progress at piping that in 1919 at the age of sixteen he was appointed teacher of the uilleann pipes at Dublin’s Municipal School of Music for 50 years. In 1925, Leo’s father died at the age of fifty-five. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Row...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...)